How LTL claims are won and lost

Claims are the part of freight where shippers most often feel cheated, and it is usually because the claim was lost at the moment of delivery, long before anyone filled out a form.

I handle LTL claims for the shippers I work with. Almost every denied claim I have seen traces to the same handful of moments.

The delivery receipt is the whole ballgame

When your receiver signs the delivery receipt clean — no notation — they have formally stated the freight arrived in good condition and complete. Everything after that is uphill.

Before signing, the receiver must:

• Count the pieces against the bill of lading.
• Walk the shipment and look at it — crushed corners, punctures, torn wrap, water staining, leaning stacks, broken pallets.
• Write down anything wrong, on the delivery receipt, specifically, before signing.
• Photograph it. On the truck if possible, before it comes off.

"Damaged" is a weak notation. "Pallet 3 of 5, carton crushed on north corner, approx 6 cartons affected, photographed" is a strong one. Specificity is the difference between a paid claim and a denied one.

Concealed damage

Damage discovered after a clean signature, when the pallet gets opened. It is legitimate and it happens constantly, but the burden is now on you to prove it happened in transit rather than in your warehouse.

Concealed damage claims get paid when the shipper moves fast and documents hard:

• Report it immediately — carriers typically require notice within a short window, often five days.
• Photograph everything before moving anything: the outer packaging, the wrap, the pallet, the damaged goods in place.
• Keep all packaging. The carrier may inspect, and packaging is the evidence.
• Note anything about the original delivery that supports transit damage.

What limits what you get back

Released value. LTL carriers limit liability per pound, and the limit is tied to freight class and commodity. It can be well below the value of your goods. If you are shipping something worth substantially more than the released value, you need additional coverage — either declared value with the carrier or your own cargo policy. Find this out before you ship, not while filing.

Packaging adequacy. A carrier can deny a claim on the grounds that packaging was insufficient for normal LTL handling. Remember that LTL freight is handled four to eight times. Packaging that survives a direct truckload move may not survive a hub network, and "it was fine when it left" is not a defense.

Timeliness. There are filing deadlines. Miss them and the merits stop mattering.

Filing one that gets paid

1. Notify quickly — in writing, with the pro number.
2. Assemble the file: bill of lading, delivery receipt with notation, photographs, commercial invoice showing value, repair or replacement cost, and packaging description.
3. Claim the actual loss — documented cost of damaged goods, not list price, not lost opportunity.
4. Preserve the freight and packaging until the carrier releases it or inspects.
5. Follow up on a schedule. Claims sit. Polite persistence with a documented file resolves more of them than escalation does.

The better strategy

Every claim is a loss even when it pays — your team's time, the customer relationship, the delay. If a lane produces claims repeatedly, the answer is usually not a better claims process. It is better packaging, or a mode with fewer touches.

This is the thread back to the mode decision. Freight that keeps getting damaged in an LTL hub network is freight that is telling you it should be moving direct.

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